I know prices are crap but with Georgia just clearing the way for year round cooning to cut down on nest raiders I thought a discussion of high speed coon catching would be good.

So assume several deer leases want them gone how would you run a high speed cover alot of ground line.

220s are legal here. Only larger than 9.5 inch square must be in water or within ten foot of water. Snares are not legal.

I'm thinking DP and drag/clog. But I wonder if time trailing up a runner wouldn't eat into time. Better to ground anchor or throw an extension cable around the nearest tree.

220s in boxes would lessen the need for as secure a staking but requires a bigger investment in gear. And comes with risks.

If you got the trails, personally i would just stick with pure trail sets either with the 220s or footholds. From a control perspective, i just think DPs misd way too many coon.

20" rebar stakes with DPs at deer feeders (18" stakes in that red clay.)

7x7 3/32" cable extensions half-hitched to trees along the creeks.

Leave the 220s and coilsprings at home. That way you will have nearly zero non-targets to deal with.

Get about 200 DPs and smack em.

I've long suspected DPs don't get their attention as well as a foothold or cage. Dont know on conis as I only break them out on attic coons where I'm setting on the roof line entry points.
At least my coyote sets always get their attention, lol.

Recently had a bunch of them rolling sod, a rarity down here, set two cuffs two #11 and four cages. Caught eight coon, one in a cuff, two in the footholds and the rest in cages.

That is what I was thinking for speed. The non targets would be fine IF they were opossums and skunks but the new reg doesn't allow skunks. But other nontargets would be a problem.

All animals would, be killed in your 220's and this would save you time and your trap site for you too.

I use extension cables to logs or trees often with dp’s. Strong dp’s make any pullouts very rare. Pogos also speed up the setting if no tie offs. 3-4 sets in a good site move on.

I set bucket feeders out in areas for a week. When I set the area, I move feeders to new line and keep going on weekly rotation. If the feeders aren’t getting used, I don’t set that spot. Just dog and cat food mix. Cheapest possible. I use the same in dp’s with a smear of Lennon’s coon lure up high at each gang set. Weekends are for moving lines and catching up in the fur shed.

In higher theft risk areas I use #1 longs with super strong springs instead of dp’s. They work great but get more skunks.

I set public land and farms with pets so bodygrips are not the best. Death ray makes life easier too. So does toting my 13 year old son around. He loves it.

Warrior, it depends on what your goal is on what equipment you would want to use. High speed/long lining is not the same thing as population/nest predator control. If you're out to long line for numbers listen to Swamp Wolf. If you are looking more towards the nest predator control side use all the traps that's been mentioned and concentrate on smaller tracks of property.
I've personally went to almost entirely DP's for coon. I do use some BG's but very very rarely. DP's allow me to cover extensive amounts of ground very fast. In return, this gives me access to so many more coon. I also don't have the worry of catching domestics. I do agree that some coon will walk right past a DP but again what is your goal here?

Here's a few pics from a road line......

On land, specifically for raccoon, I'm surprised anyone would use anything BUT a DP trap in a rural area.

There some areas where a simple blind set will catch 3 times the coon. They just don't work as efficiently .

Some good points made so far.

Particularly goals. Definite difference between long lining for fur and eradication for predator control. One is efficiency in numbers while the other is very specific detailed removal.

At this point just a hypothetical analysis for me as I contemplate moving away from urban NWCO work. I'm getting to old for ladder/roof work and am looking for the exit.

Doing urban work I see some similarity between the two though. Mainly in the efficiency side. I like to get my jobs set up to run as quickly as possible. The quicker I can run a route the more clients I can help, more profitability.

Just speculating how this might look if I could move to a more rural setting where deer leases are the better clients.

You did ask for an opinion so here goes, as has been said smaller parcels of land. Twice the numbers of footholds over prime coon for flesh and stretch,use drags, rigged at home. I use 12x12 paver tile. Thro out set and go. Then this may be the deal breaker, any old hound dog pet that you take every day, start him as a puppy, he will soon enough learn what you want and will cut down on your trail time a lot. I trap coyotes year round and it works for them in Indiana. (Keep coyotes from calves) You'll have to use your own experience as to dp, conis, and the like. Move on when you feel the ground/nest predators are eradicated. And good luck with your work.
Me

Post script.
You are going to catch a lot of skunks, feral cats, possums, squirrels, and others. Have a contingency plan in place. I catch a few nontarget each year, the state DNR is aware of my intent. I talk to them every year.
Again good luck.

Nice catches.Way to go.

I used all cages on sod roller coon. With a plywood piece underneath.

DP's do miss coon...or rather coon do miss DP's


I add in 1.5s where legal

A system of 2 sets 1 each would work using cable stakes to keep it simple .

That's one thing I like about urban nwco work and cages.

They work, no set making just drop on location and move on. Quick to run.

But there is somewhat of a limit on how many cages one can deploy on a large scale due to bulk.

The longest coon lines I have ever run have caught just under 200 coons in about 3 weeks, but that also included some canine, rat lines as well.
As stated above I would concentrate on trails with body grippers and setting heavier and shorter and moving in 3-5 days. Your area may be different so that may not be the best for you. Body gripped coons are dispatched, cleaner, dryer and not moving, so all are things that can make you more efficient. As to footholds I would gang set where body grippers are not as efficient and use DPs where coons are numerous but domestic incidentals are likely. Body grippers in boxes etc. are cumbersome, more work, more expensive and a better draw stations for species other than coons. As you get to know and run your line you will know and find the most productive spots. When you lay out your line or your multiple lines stick to the plan. It usually not efficient to drive off the route for a mile or two to set a couple sets. The first year I ran what I call a longer line, I had my first long line that covered about 70 miles round trip and then about 3 shorter loops which got me 197 coons. The 2nd year I ran 5 4-day short lines, caught 154 coons but drove 40% fewer miles and a lot less time.

Bryce

Good advice from Bryce.... especially about getting to know your line and sticking to the plan.

Although I hardly ever use BG's, it is nice to have those nice dry coon waiting for you.

Soooo nice and dry.....



But...They're not always dry.....

Love to use 160's on trails here. Have had coon walk by dog proofs for what ever reason, maybe not liking the bait bait or scent and get caught with the blind set just 20 feet away. Dog proofs have there place but I personally have really good luck with trail sets and 160's

Mb160 with a perfect head catch

DPs can slaughter them but you won't get all of them. 220 set in good trails take the others. Sometimes a tried and true pocket is the best way if you have water. I set 12 one time and had 11 coon and a possum all in about 300 yards of creek. Took over 80 of them in ten days out of those 12 sets. All before DP traps. Fast,
Sometimes I think we forgot how to trap coon since we got the DP traps- me included .